|
Australian Christian Churches
The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. The ACC grew out of the Assemblies of God in Australia, which was founded in 1937 with the merger of #Assemblies of God Queensland, Assemblies of God Queensland (AGQ), and the #Pentecostal Church of Australia, Pentecostal Church of Australia. In 2007, at which time it had over 375,000 members, it assumed "Australian Christian Churches" as its public name, but remained registered as the incorporated Assemblies of God in Australia until 2013. Hillsong Church, the largest church in ACC, separated from the ACC in 2018. Beliefs The Doctrinal Basis of Australian Christian Churches contains the central beliefs of the denomination. Its 20 articles are summarized below: #There is only one true God who exists as a Trinity. #Jesu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae, five ''solae'' summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism. Protestants follow the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began in the 16th century with the goal of reforming the Catholic Church from perceived Criticism of the Catholic Church, errors, abuses, and discrepancies. The Reformation began in the Holy Roman Empire in 1517, when Martin Luther published his ''Ninety-five Theses'' as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, which purported to offer the remission of the Purgatory, temporal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil
A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of the devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God, 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil (a '' fallen angel'') or 4) a symbol of human evil. Each tradition, culture, and religion with a devil in its mythos offers a different lens on manifestations of evil.Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Cornell University Press 1987 , pp. 41–75 The history of these perspectives intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art, and literature, developing independently within each of the traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names— Satan (Judaism), Lucifer (Christianity), Bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Body Of Christ
In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus Christ's words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it may refer to all individuals who are "in Christ" (; see Christian Church). As used by Paul in the Pauline epistles "Body of Christ" refers to all individuals who "heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (), "are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (), are "joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (). There are significant differences in how Christians understand the term as used by Christ at the Last Supper and as developed in Christian theology of the Eucharist. For some it may be symbolic, for others it becomes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym for Christianity, despite the fact that it is composed of multiple churches or denominations, many of which hold a doctrinal claim of being the one true church to the exclusion of the others. For many Protestantism, Protestant Christians, the Christian Church has two components: the church visible, institutions in which "the Bible, Word of God purely preached and listened to, and the sacraments administered according to Christ's institution", as well as the church invisible—all "who are truly Salvation in Christianity, saved" (with these beings members of the visible church). In this understanding of the invisible church, "Christian Church" (or Catholic (term), catholic Church) does not refer to a particular Christian denomination, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adoption (theology)
Adoption, in Christian theology, is the reception of a believer into the family of God. In the Reformed '' ordo salutis'' ("order of salvation"), adoption is usually regarded as a step immediately subsequent to justification. As a theological word, adoption has similar connotations to the act of parents who legally take responsibility for a child who was not originally born to them. There are three references in the New Testament to God "adopting" () Christians as his own children ( Galatians 4:5, Romans 8:15 and Ephesians 1:5) and one reference to God adopting the "people of Israel" (Romans 9:4). Adoption as a theological term introduces a relational dimension to the consequences of salvation. Adoption as a theological concept is also another consequence of the 'legal' act of justification, alongside redemption and reconciliation. The Old Testament precedent for this term comes from the story of Mephibosheth, who despite not being part of Davidic family was included in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justification (theology)
In Christian theology, justification is the event or process by which sinners are made or declared to be righteous in the sight of God. In the 21st century, there is now substantial agreement on justification by most Christian communions. The collective bodies of most of the largest Christian denominations, including Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Methodist, have affirmed a 1999 Lutheran–Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification that details this consensus, noting different distinctive emphases that individual communions consider essential to state. Historically, the difference in theories on the means of justification has often been the theological fault line that divided Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox from the Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed traditions of Protestantism during the Reformation. Central issues of dispute have revolved around the nature or mechanism of the righteousness given by God when God justifies h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regeneration (theology)
Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the ('order of salvation'), is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life. Spiritually, it means that God brings a person to new life (that they are " born again") from a previous state of separation from God and subjection to the decay of death ( Ephesians 2:5). Thus, in Lutheran and Roman Catholic theology, it generally means that which takes place during baptism. In Calvinism (Reformed theology) and Arminian theology, baptism is recognized as an outward sign of an inward reality which is to follow regeneration as a sign of obedience to the New Testament; as such, the Methodist Churches teach that regeneration occurs during the new birth. While the exact Greek noun for 'rebirth' or 'regeneration' () appears just twice in the New Testament ( Matthew 19:28 and Titus 3:5), regeneration in Christianity is held to represent a wider theme of re-creation and spiritual rebir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Born Again (Christianity)
To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a Regeneration (theology), regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and separately caused by the operation of the Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Spirit, and it occurs when one is baptized in water (John 3:5, Titus 3:5). While all Christians are familiar with the concept from the Bible, it is a core doctrine of the denominations of the Anabaptism, Anabaptist, Moravian Church, Moravian, Methodism, Methodist, Baptists, Baptist, Plymouth Brethren and Pentecostalism, Pentecostal churches along with evangelical Christian denominations. These Churches stress Jesus's words in the Gospels: "Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’" (John 3:7). (In some English translations, the phrase "born again" is rendered as "born from above" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faith In Christianity
Faith in Christianity is often discussed in terms of believing God in Christianity, God's promises, trusting in his faithfulness, and relying on God's character and faithfulness to act. Some denominations believe in the New Covenant and in the doctrine of Salvation in Christianity, salvation by justification by faith, faith alone (). According to most Christian traditions and denominations, Christian faith requires a belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and the Agony in the Garden which Jesus states is the plan of God the Father. Since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, the meaning of the term ''faith'' has been an object of major Christian theology, theological disagreement in Western Christianity. The differences have been largely overcome in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999). The precise understanding of the term "faith" differs among the Christian denomination, various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Repentance (theology)
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a commitment to personal change and the resolve to live a more responsible and humane life. In other words, being sorry for one's misdeeds. It can also involve sorrow over a specific sin or series of sins that an individual feels guilt over, or conviction that they have committed. The practice of repentance plays an important role in the soteriological doctrines of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Analogous practices have been found in other world religions as well. In religious contexts, it often involves an act of confession to God or to a spiritual elder (such as a monk or priest). This confession might include an admission of guilt, a promise or intent not to repeat the offense, an attempt to make restitution for the wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salvation (Christianity)
In Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the saving of human beings from sin and its consequences—which include death and separation from God—by Christ's death and resurrection, and the justification entailed by this salvation. The idea of Jesus' death as an atonement for human sin was recorded in the Christian Bible, and was elaborated in Paul's epistles and in the Gospels. Paul saw the faithful redeemed by participation in Jesus' death and rising. Early Christians regarded themselves as partaking in a new covenant with God, open to both Jews and Gentiles, through the sacrificial death and subsequent exaltation of Jesus Christ. Early Christian beliefs of the person and sacrificial role of Jesus in human salvation were further elaborated by the Church Fathers, medieval writers and modern scholars in various atonement theories, such as the ransom theory, Christus Victor theory, recapitulation theory, satisfaction theory, penal su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
